R.I.S.E.

The objective of RISE is to grow jobs and spearhead economic development by linking business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs to comprehensive assistance and regional service providers with expertise in business start-up, development and acceleration.

RISE offers assistance free of charge to businesses at every stage of development. Consultations might include:

Viability & Environmental Analysis
Understanding your market can inform a lot about your business. We help entrepreneurs to determine their market size and its unmet needs.

Business Plan Development
We do not write traditional business plans, but we do challenge entrepreneurs to fully understand all the vital elements that make a business successful. Entrepreneurs are then coached on how to cohesively communicate those pieces.

Sales and Marketing Support
Ask entrepreneurs what they need most and the answer is “sales.” We help entrepreneurs understand this vital function and essential factors of effective sales and marketing strategies.

Employee Training and Development
Entrepreneurs need to surround themselves with the right kind of talent to grow their companies. We will help to assess your hiring needs, critical skill sets, readiness to hire, and finally, what human resource policies and procedures will set up success.

Capital, Finance and Accounting
We help entrepreneurs understand the businesses’ potential costs, capital needs and capital sources. With an understanding of the movement, uses and impact of money within the business, entrepreneurs can establish positive cash flow.

Intellectual Property
Whether it’s a patent or a trade secret, we guide the entrepreneur through the intellectual property process, helping to ensure their unique technology or service has the appropriate barrier to entry.

Partnerships & Advisors
Partners can be a powerful resource to startups, but come with added complexity. Effective Advisory Boards and Boards of Directors can also accelerate a company’s development with strategic and industry expertise. We assist entrepreneurs in identifying the right talent and structuring clear operating plans.

RISE works with clients one on one to address these areas and ultimately, establish and achieve milestones of growth.

A Unique Approach

RISE’s unique approach takes any business, regardless of the technology or industry, and focuses specifically on the business development process, helping to bring clarity and understanding to the entrepreneur. In so doing, ideas, companies and people at any stage of enterprise development have a place to go for assessment, advice and direction.

Funding & Partners

Funding for RISE is provided from both private and public partners including the Randolph J. & Estelle M. Dorn Foundation, Wightman-Wieber Charitable Foundation, Erie County Community Foundation and Murray & Murray Charitable Foundation.

Located on the BGSU Firelands campus, other RISE partners include the Erie County Economic Development Corporation (ECEDC), BGSU Firelands and Great Lakes Innovation and Development Enterprise (GLIDE). The Great Lakes Innovation and Development Enterprise (GLIDE), an enterprise of Lorain County Community College (LCCC) in Elyria, Ohio, is a comprehensive regional innovation center and resource hub that supports all facets of the start-up, development and growth of enterprises. Originally created by a unique partnership of the Lorain County Commissioners, Lorain County Community College and the Lorain County Chamber of Commerce, GLIDE’s objectives are to grow jobs and spearhead economic growth in both Lorain County and the northern Ohio region.